Women's Tennis

Patriot tennis teams take to the court on Thursday

The Francis Marion University men's and women's tennis teams
will open their 2012 seasons on Thursday (Feb. 2) when the Patriots
travel to the Tar Heel State to play Mount Olive College at 2
p.m.

Following Thursday's matches, FMU will play at Queens University
of Charlotte on Saturday. The Patriot women will play their
home opener on Feb. 10 against Erskine College at 2 p.m. on the
Kassab Courts.

The FMU men are ranked 14th in the 2012 pre-season
Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division II Top 25 national
poll.

FMU head coach Garth Thomson returns four lettermen from last
year's 10-8 team that ended the year ranked 17th and earned the
program's fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament invitation, and its
15th bid in the past 17 seasons. All eight of the team's
losses were to nationally ranked opponents.

However, FMU must replace departed three-time All-American
Oshada Wijemanne. "We have such a young squad that I am not
exactly sure what to expect in 2012. But that doesn't mean we
are without promise," Thomson said. "We have a pair of
talented guys to play at the top – junior Alex Caspari (11-4
in 2011) and freshman Gavin Davison
– who are ready to break through and have great
seasons. Both have a chance to be Top 20 singles players."
Caspari is among those others receiving votes in the preseason
Division II men's singles rankings. The pair are ranked 19th
in the preseason national doubles rankings.

"The starting line-up will include as many as three freshmen and
one sophomore. Despite our youth, we have high energy guys
who are fresh and hungry. For me, the uncertainty of 2012
makes this an exciting and fun time as a coach. We can only
practice so much, so the players and myself are ready to start the
regular-season matches.

"Our two returning seniors, Dirk Bair (8-6 in 2011)
and Jack
Bishop (8-10) have taken over the team leadership role and done
an excellent job in that regard both on and off the court.
They both want to make their fourth straight trip to the
NCAAs."

Freshman Jonathan Hain is
another newcomer who will add punch to the Patriot line-up.
Last fall, he won the men's singles B flight at the USTA/ITA
Southeast Regional Tennis Tournament in Sumter.

"Our first six matches will tell us what type of squad we have
as we will face three regionally ranked opponents. The team's
goal is to earn that NCAA Tournament invitation."

On the women's side, Thomson welcomes back five letterwinners
from last year's 11-7 squad that ended the year ranked No.
30. All seven losses were to nationally ranked teams,
including four defeats to Top 10 opponents. Over the past four
seasons, the FMU women own a combined 71-21 mark, with 13 losses to
opponents ranked in the Top 5.

Leading the women returnees are senior Jitka Gavdunova and
junior Mona Blauen, both named this week to the preseason All-Peach
Belt Conference team.

Gavdunova is currently ranked ninth in the Division II singles
rankings. She was 15-1 in singles play last year at the No. 1
position, was ranked 13th nationally, and garnered All-America
honors for the second time in her career. She was also
selected as the women's Player to Watch for the Southeast Region,
and her lone loss was to the then No.1-ranked singles player in
Division II. A native of Vejprty, Czech Republic, she owns a
53-6 career singles record in her three seasons at FMU

Blauen is ranked 20th in the Division II singles rankings.
Last season, she posted a 13-2 record and in two seasons as a
Patriot is 30-6.

Gavdunova and Blauen are also ranked 11th nationally in
doubles. Last season, they were 12-4, and in two years of
playing together they own a 21-2 mark in Peach Belt play.

"These two players give us a lot of experience at the top of our
line-up – a very solid one-two punch," Thomson said.
"Jitka has put in a lot of hard work during her years at FMU and
that is paying off. She and Mona really push each.

"For the first time in several seasons, we have good depth on
the women's side, with many players battling for the six slots.
This will make us very competitive at every rung of the
ladder. In addition to Jitka and Mona, we have three other
returnees who are ready to win against the top teams in the
PBC: (junior) Kerry Hall, (sophomore) Kimberley Hurter, and
(sophomore) Caitlin Siney. We have several newcomers who will
improve our program, and these are headed by junior Tereza Baranova
and freshman Julia Graf." Baranova is ranked 41st in the
preseason national singles rankings, while Graf was among those
also receiving votes. As a doubles pair, they are also among
those receiving votes in the preseason rankings.

"As with the men's team, our number one goal is to play in the
NCAA Tournament. We also want to finish as high as possible
in the Peach Belt, where the tough competition really prepares you
for the national tournament."

Entering his 20th season at FMU, Thomson has directed the FMU
women to a 245-162 record, while the men boast a 274-134 mark over
that same time. The women have made 10 trips to the
NCAAs in the past 17 years.